Clamp for eab ornaments



- 1,195,324. PatentedA11g.22,l916.

B. c. ALLEN.

CLAMP FOR EAR ORNAMENTS. APPLlCATlON FILED MAY 6, 191a.

flllllllllllllllllll BENJAMIN 0'. ALLEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CLAMP FOR EAR ORNAMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

Application filed May 6, 1916. Serial No. 95,826.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN C. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clamps for Ear Ornaments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to clamps for ear ornaments.

Its principal object is to provide a clamp which will maintain itself securely upon the ear, and thereby provide security not only for the clamp itself, but, importantly, for the ornament carried thereby.

Afurther object is to provide a secur clamp which may be worn comfortably upon the ear, and without injury thereto.

It is also an object to provide a clamp Which will not detract from the ornamental effect of the ornament proper associated therewith.

Further objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

It is not new to provide clamps for ear ornaments comprising a yoke, means for securing the ornament to the yoke and means for clamping the device upon the lobe of the ear. The use of clamps is much preferred by many wearers of ear ornaments largely be cause such use avoids piercing the ears. The loss, and the fear of loss, of clamp mountings from the wearers ears have been so great that the provision of clamping means which afford the desired security is of importance, particularly where valuable gems,

such as diamonds, pearls, etc., are attached thereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, I have illustrated, by means of greatly enlarged figures, a preferred embodiment'of these improvements and modified forms of clamping members.

Figure 1 thereof is a side elevation of a preferred form of the device complete; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same as on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the same device in holding relation to the lobe of the ear, the section being taken as if on the broken line 33 of Fig. 2; and Figs. 4 and 5 are face views respectively of modified forms of clamping members, the scale being reduced from that of the other figures.

The yoke 10 may carry any suitable means for holding the ornament proper, as, for instance, the pronged mounting 11. The clamping member 12 is rigid with one arm of the yoke 10. The other arm of the yoke is threaded to receive the screw shaft 13 having the disk or finger, wheel 14:, and the clamping member, as 15, is swiveled, as at 13, to the end of the screw shaft 13. Each, of the clamping members 12 and 15 is preferably substantially disk-shaped and comprises a plurality of relatively long and narrow surfaces, as 16, preferably formed loopshaped and with the loops as 17, extending substantially radially from the center. They thus provide a plurality of open spaces 18 and also a plurality of substantially V- shaped spaces 19 between the outer portions of adjacent loops, the word outer having reference to the center or axis of the clamping member. The members 12 and 15 are preferably concave toward each other.

"When the clamping members 12 and 15 are brought into clamping relation with the car, as shown in Fig. 3, the clamping surfaces, as 16, become somewhat embedded in the skin, or, in other words, portions of the car, as 20, extend into the openings 18 and other portions, as 21, extend into the substantially V-shaped spaces 19. Thus the clamping members are in substantially interlocked relation with the ear by a considerably large number of projections of the integument of the ear beyond the clamping surfaces 16. The substantially i -shaped openings 19 provide a notably strong resistance to slippage, for on pulling downward upon the yoke 10 the integument crowds still further into the lower of such openings 19, especially the opening 19 In 9 this connection it is pointed out that as the openings 18 and 19 converge toward the center or axis of the clamping member, a drawing downward upon the yoke 10 causes the projecting integument in the lower openings to become constricted in the more narrow portions, thus increasing the resistance to further movement. The weight of the ornament proper is in many instances considerable, and tends to cause some of the radial peripheral projections to incline more directly toward the ear, especially when the clamping members are not as tightly set against the ear as they should be. Such inclination causes these projections to impinge the integument of the ear with holding effect,

The relatively long and narrow surfaces 16 provide a much larger total surface contacting the ear than in the case where there is employed a cup-shaped clamping member having an annular rim adapted to bear against the ear, or in the case of a simple rounded knob employed for the same purpose, thus providing a greater area of merely frictional contact. It is also pointed out that by reason of the numerous features of resistance provided it is not necessary to clamp the members so tightly upon the ear as to be uncomfortable, and not so as seriously to inhibit the supply of blood to the integument under compression.

The clamping members 12 and 15 and of the modified forms are preferably stamped from metal, such as silver, gold or platinum, according to the material employed in the rest of the device, and the complete device may be made according to practices well understood in the art.

The invention is not limited to the specific constructions shown, and I contemplate all changes and modifications therefrom as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An ear-engaging clamping member for an ear ornament clamp, said member being substantially flat and disk-shaped and having a plurality of substantially radial projections for engaging the ear, said projections being spaced apart and terminating free whereby the ends of the projections may impinge against the ear and the integument of the ear may be crowded between adjacent of said projections.

2. An ear-engaging clamping member for an ear ornament clamp, said member being substantially disk-shaped and having a plurality of interiorly-open loops spaced from the center of the member and formed to provide a plurality of relatively long and narrow surfaces for engaging the ear.

3. An ear-engaging clamping member for an ear-ornament clamp, said member being substantially disk-shaped and having an outer circumferential periphery composed of a plurality of ear-contacting projections extending outward from the central portion of the member and so arranged that substantially V-shaped spaces occur between adjacent of said projections, said projections being adapted to impinge against the ear, said spaces being relatively narrow at portions thereof respectively whereby the integument of the ear may be crowded therein when said member is clamped upon the ear.

4. An ear-engaging clamping member for an ear ornament clamp, said member being substantially disk-shaped andcomprising a plurality of interiorly open loops for engaging the ear, said loops extending outward from the central portion of the member and being spaced apart whereby a plurality of substantially V-shaped spaces occur between adjacent of said loops, said spaces being relatively narrow at portions thereof respectively whereby the integument of the ear may be crowded therein when the member is clamped upon the ear, said loops terminating free whereby the ends thereof at the greatest distance from the central portion of the member may impinge against the ear.

BENJAMIN C. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

ALVAREZ A. BARNES, (Mrs. A. B. Roessrra) M. M. KRIESAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.? 

